Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-10-29

cold paw. felt a sharp prick at my
wrist.
You will dip the pen,'' said the old
gentleman, lin the blood. 1t is q mere
form"
"Cluck!" said Boule-de-neige.
"A mere form, because we have 10 ink
handy"
"Cluck-cluck!!"
l signed my name as desired, and, fol-
lowing the directions Of the gentleman,
placed my finger on the red wafer at the
margin, saying, II declare this my act
and deed"
Then I gave the pen to Boule-de-neige.
He signed after me, in q firm, flowing
hand, "Boule-de-neice." AS I looked,
the letters seemed somehow to shape
themselves into "Beelzebub." I looked
at him with a kind Of terror. The Great
ure grinned in my face as if he OWNED
my thoughts, and gave utterance to one
of his hideous 'clucks."
Then I began to feel the same faintness
which l had at first experienced. 1t
mounted upward from my feet slowly, so
that I heard the old gentleman's voice,
though saw nothing. 1t grew gradually
fainter.
saying; II feel getting hungry already;
can have it served at $3.50. Oh, blessed
day! Oh, thankful, blessed day! Boule-
de-neige, it must be supper for three-for
four-for five. I shall have champagne
the Perrier Jouet-the Curacao punch
afterward. Curacao, punch-I haven't
tasted it for three months and more. Oh,
what a Observation-Disclosures
l heard no more because my senses
failed me altogether, and his voice died
away in my ears.
When I came to myself I was leaning
against the post in Bucklersbury, where l
had met the old man.
A Whit Of stale cooked meat from the
cookshop, which caught me as l opened
my eyes, produced u singular feeling Of
disgust. "Pah," muttered, "roast NUT
toni and moved from the spot. Ny hun
ger was gone, that was quite certain. I
felt a quietness about those regions, wl,er-
ever they may be, which belong to p
tite. l was almost dreamy in the
repose which followed a morning
so stormy. l walked quietly away
homeward in a kind of daze, try
ing to make out something of what
had happened. The first thing l found l
could not remember was the name Of the
old gentleman. When that came back
to mt and under what circumstances I
will tell you as we get along. Bit by
bit l recalled the whole events OF
the afternoon, n after tho other. l
saw the old man, with his purple face
and bloodshot eyes and white hair; l saw
the wrinkled and scanned old negro; l
saw the Octagonal room without doors or
windows; the splendid dinner; tho host
watching my every gesture; l remem-
bered everything except the name of the
man to whom l had sold-my appetite.
1t was so strange that l laughed when
l thought Of it. / must have beer drunk;
he gave me a good dinner and l took too
much wine; but, then. how was it that 1
remembered clearly evergreen the
smallest-detail.
On the bed in the one room which COIL
stituted my lodging I found q letter. 1t
was from q firm Of lawyers, dated that
evening at G:3O-only a half an hour after
! signed the paper-stating that they We're
empowered by II client whose name was
monthly, to begin from that day and TO DO
paid me personally. How did they get
their instructions then, And il was ull
truel
was too tired with the days Mlvcn-
lures to think any more; and though it
was only 9 o'clock I went 10 bed and fell
fast asleep. In an hour | awokc again
with a choking sensation, az if l was eat
ing too much. I knew instantly what
was going on, and hya kind Of prophetic
insight. The old man was taking his
supper, and taking more than was good
for me. sprang from the bed gasping
for breath. Presently, as | gathered, he
began to drink too much as well. My
brain went round and round. laughed,
sang and danced; and soon after, with II
heavy fall, / rolled senseless on the carpet
and remembered nothing more.
1t was early in the morning when |
awoke, still lying on the floor. had II
splitting headache. l hud fallen against
sOme corner of the furniture and black
ened one eye. I had broken two chairs
somehow or other. | was cold, i'll. and
shaken. ! got into bed, and tried to re-
member what had happened. Clearly I
must have made n drunken beast Of my
self over the dinner, and reeled home with
my head full OF fancics and dreams; per-
haps the dinner itself was u dream and a
hallucination TOO; if 50, the pangs Of
hunger would soon recommencc. But
they did not. Then I fell asleep, and did
not awake again till the clock struck 12.
How i'll and wrctched l felt as l dressed!
My hand shook, my eyes were red, my
face swollen. Surely l must have been
intoxicated. I had been, up to that day
at least, n temperate man, partly, no
doubt, from the very wholesome reason
which keeps SO many OF rs sober
the necessity of poverty; but of course I
had not arrived Mt four and twenty years
and seen SO much Of tho world without
recognizing the signs of too much drink.
had them, every one; and, as most men
know too we'll, they are all summed up in
the simple expression, shot coppers."
Alas! I was destined to become only too
familiar with the accursed symptoms.
lnvoluntarily, when / had dressed myself,
l put my hands in my pockets, those
pockets so often empty; there was money,
gold-sovereigns-my pocket was full Of
them. l counted them in n stupor.
%Forty-nine, and one rolled into the corner
fifty; it was part Of the sum for Which
had sold my appetite; and on the table
lay the letter from Messrs. Crarkett a.
Charges, inviting me To draw. SEQ Il
month.
Then it was all true!
l sat down, n With my thrObbing
temples and feverish pulse, tried to make
it out. Everything became plain except
the name of the purchaser-Mr.-Mr.-
remembered Boule-de-neige, the house,
the room and the dinner, but not the
name of that arch deceiycr, the whole Of
whose villainy I was far from realizing
yet; and until it was told me later on
never did remember the name.
1t was strange. Men are said to have
sold their souls to the devil for money,
bartering away an eternity of happiness
for q few years Of pleasure: but as for me.